Second Balkan War 1913

Only one month after the Treaty of London had ended the First Balkan War, the Second Balkan War began as a result of Serbia, Greece, and Romania quarreling with Bulgaria over the division of their joint conquests in Macedonia. The Bulgarians, having had the greatest military success, demanded compensation on that basis; the Serbs and Greeks demanded adjustment to the 1912 treaty of alliance (the Balkan League) to ensure a balance of Balkan powers; and the Romanians demanded a territorial reward for their neutral position in the first war. Even before the First Balkan War ended, a strong faction in Bulgaria had demanded war against Serbia to preserve the Bulgarian claim to Macedonia. On June 1, 1913, Serbia and Greece formed an alliance against Bulgaria.

The war began on June 30, 1913, when King Ferdinand of Bulgaria ordered his troops to attack Serbian and Greek forces in Macedonia. By July 2nd, Bulgarian armies were checked by Serbian and Greek forces in separate actions and the allies counterattacked. Romania declared war on Bulgaria on July 11, 1913, because they feared Bulgarian domination of the Balkans if Macedonia were not partitioned; Romanian troops advanced towards Sofia. The Ottoman Empire declared war on July 15, 1913; Ottoman troops recaptured Adrianople (Edirne) on July 20th. Because most Bulgarian forces were committed on the Serbian frontier, Turkish and Romanian troops easily occupied Bulgarian territory and Bulgaria was forced to sue for peace July 30, 1913. One estimate of casualties suggests the number of loses to be Bulgaria (18,000); Greece (12,500); Montenegro (2,000); Romania (1,500); Serbia (18,500); and the Ottoman Empire (20,000).

The Treaty of Bucharest, ending the war, was signed on August 10, 1913. The treaty stripped Bulgaria of the costly gains achieved in the First Balkan War and allowed Bulgaria to retain only very small parts of Macedonia and Thrace; Greece and Serbia divided the rest. The Ottoman Empire regained Adrianople (Edirne) and established the western boundary of the empire at the Maritsa River. As a result of the Balkan Wars, Greece gained southern Macedonia as well as the island of Crete. Serbia gained the Kosovo region and extended into northern and central Macedonia. Albania was made an independent state under a German prince. The political consequences of the wars were considerable. Bulgaria was left humiliated and, frustrated in Macedonia, looked to Austria-Hungary for support, while Serbia, which had been forced by Austria-Hungary to give up its Albanian conquests, regarded Vienna with greater hostility than ever. At this point Russia, whose warnings Bulgaria had defied by attacking Serbia, shifted its support to the Serbs as its Balkan counterbalance against Austro-Hungarian claims.

References

Clodfelter, 614; COW103; Dupuy and Dupuy, 1017; EB - Balkan Wars; Bulgaria - A Country Study; Kohn, 51; Turkey - A Country Study.

Category

Inter-State War

Region

Eastern Europe

Belligerents

Bulgaria, Greece, Ottoman Empire, Romania, Serbia

Dispute

Territory

Initiation Date

June 30, 1913

Termination Date

August 10, 1913

Duration

41 days

Outcome

Negotiated Settlement
(Bulgarian defeat)

Fatalities

Total: 60,500
Bulgaria: 18,000
Greece: 2,500
Ottoman: 20,000
Romania: 1,500
Serbia: 18,500

Magnitude

4.8